


transatlanticism

by copperwings



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Hand Jobs, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Ridiculous Boys in Love, Skyping, inspired by a song, slightly ADHD JJ
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-17 06:07:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13070712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/copperwings/pseuds/copperwings
Summary: It takes approximately two and a half minutes of video chat for Yuri to realize that JJ in public is completely different from JJ in a more private situation.JJ in public is brash, loud and infuriating.JJ in a private setting is still loud, but he’s also a huge blushing idiot who can’t sit still for more than thirty seconds and who stumbles over his words and chuckles nervously. His eyes are often lowered as if he doesn’t know where to look.It would be annoying if it wasn’t so fuckingcute.-...or: how Yuri and JJ cope with an ocean between them.





	transatlanticism

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by the song Transatlanticism by Death Cab For Cutie.

 

 

Isabella and JJ’s engagement ends a month before the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Yuri hears it from Otabek as they’re talking about flights and hotel arrangements.

“Oh,” Yuri just says, shrugging.

He sees JJ at the Olympics, and from an outsider’s point of view JJ seems just like he was before: loud, obnoxious and irritating. Like a rash that won’t go away, but over time you get used to it, so you stop scratching it and then maybe it stops being so irritating.

JJ’s ego is still big enough to fill any room he walks into, but at least he doesn’t call Yuri stupid pet names anymore, so there’s that. They exchange a few words after the competition. They’re just generic words of passing acquaintances and fellow competitors, but Yuri gets stuck thinking about how JJ’s eyes seem bluer than usual when he smiles.

Yuri shakes the thought out of his head and moves on with his life.

The blue eyes seem to follow him around, though, topped with an echo of JJ’s loud, booming laughter.

Yuri casually follows JJ on instagram one day in June like it’s no big deal. He scrolls down JJ’s feed, liking a few recent photos and then a few older ones from the Olympics.

Of course Yuri’s Angels and the JJ Girls immediately pick up on that and begin speculating.

JJ sends him a screencap of the conversation in the comments of one of his photos, where rumors are running rampant.

 

 **byeefeliciabtch** _Didn’t you see Yuri liked a photo from almost four months back? It has to mean something!_

 **JJismyking** _Are you kidding me? Ppl can like other people’s photos and it doesn’t have to mean anything, stupid b***._

 **YuriAngel143** _Can everyone just calm their fucking tiddies?! And let them live their lives? They are people y’know??? If they are dating just let them, jeesh._

 

 _Apparently we’re dating now_ , JJ’s caption says.

Yuri rolls his eyes and sends back a string of facepalming emojis.

 

*

 

They meet again in October at Skate Canada, and Yuri facepalms for real when JJ shouts across the hotel lobby, “Yuri, my love, we need to figure out the color scheme for our wedding soon, at least if instagram is anything to go by!”

Yuri swears he hears a million camera shutters go off all around him.

Next to Yuri, Mila is trembling with silent laughter.

Yuri glares at her. “Not. A. Fucking. Word.”

Mila, naturally, pays no attention to Yuri’s request. “Am I invited to the wedding?” she chirps, batting her lashes.

Yuri shoots her a glare and then marches across the lobby to where JJ is checking in. “JJ, what the hell?”

“You’re just fueling their fire, you know?” JJ says, turning to look at Yuri. He has his stupid sunglasses perched on his head like always, and he has the audacity to _wink_ before turning back to the receptionist.

Yuri glances around, and sure enough, there are at least a dozen phones aimed at them.

Yuri takes a step back so he’s not crowding JJ anymore. It’s only _after_ he’s stepped back that he realizes how close he just stood.

JJ turns to him, finished checking in. “So, what floor are you on?” he asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

“ _Ugh_.” Yuri rolls his eyes so hard he’s momentarily afraid they’re going to pop out of his head. Then he turns and marches back to where Mila is standing, typing away on her phone.

She flashes the screen at Yuri. “I’m sending your date photo to Otabek. This is too good to _not_ send.”

“ _What?_ Give me that,” Yuri says, tugging the phone from Mila’s grasp.

Mila has snapped a photo of him standing right next to JJ. Neither of them are facing the camera but the angle makes it look like they’re holding hands or some shit.

“Mila, what the fuck?” Yuri groans.

JJ passes them with his bright red luggage that has his initials all over it. Like it was Louis Vuitton, but instead of LV it reads JJ in black letters.

“See you around, Yuri,” JJ calls, and Yuri swears the words are followed by a chorus of camera shutters again. Yuri glares after JJ, and Mila takes the opportunity to snatch her phone back from Yuri’s grasp.

“Otabek sends his blessing,” she cackles, looking down at the screen. “He reminds you to stay safe and use condoms, though.”

“What have I done to deserve you people?” Yuri grumbles.

“Probably something terrible,” Mila hums, typing into her phone.

“I must have been the devil himself in a previous life,” Yuri mutters and makes his way to his room. He spends most of his time off-ice hiding in there.

JJ sends him screencaps of twitter and instagram exploding over their encounter in the lobby. There are several blurry pictures of them standing right next to each other beside the reception desk, taken from several angles. They are accompanied by suggestions that maybe they’re checking into the hotel together.

 _We should have booked the honeymoon suite_ , JJ writes.

 _You are a douche_ , Yuri sends back.

 _But an adorable douche, yes?_ JJ replies with a winky emoji.

 _No, just an annoying one_ , Yuri types and then tosses his phone to the other side of the bed.

He turns onto his back and stares at the ceiling.

JJ is the most irritating person to ever walk the face of the earth, but as the skating season advances and they keep running into each other, Yuri can’t fight the invisible force that keeps pulling them together like they’re tied to the opposite ends of a rubber band.

Yuri finds himself scrolling through JJ’s selfie-filled instagram all the time and coming up with snarky remarks whenever JJ sends him a direct message. Yuri doesn’t want to call it _attraction_ , but eventually he has to admit that’s probably what it is.

He curses all higher powers who have made him fall for that stupid idiot.

“ _Fine_ ,” Yuri says in December, after dragging JJ by the arm outside the GPF banquet room in Vancouver. “You’re still a douche, but you’re also kind of hot.”

JJ blinks at this, and for once there isn’t a single word falling out of his stupid, loud mouth.

So Yuri kisses him, right there in the lobby outside the banquet hall. Maybe it’s the champagne that makes JJ’s eyes seem even bluer than before, or maybe it’s the dim lights that make him look so ridiculously attractive in his suit, but either way, Yuri kisses him. And by some miracle from some higher power, JJ doesn’t pull away.

It’s a split-second rushed decision Yuri maybe, kind of, sort of regrets, because what kind of a masochist gives a piece of their heart to someone who lives several time zones and an ocean away?

 

*

 

It takes approximately two and a half minutes of video chat for Yuri to realize that JJ in public is completely different from JJ in a more private situation.

JJ in public is brash, loud and infuriating.

JJ in a private setting is still loud, but he’s also a huge blushing idiot who can’t sit still for more than thirty seconds and who stumbles over his words and chuckles nervously. His eyes are often lowered as if he doesn’t know where to look.

It would be annoying if it wasn’t so fucking _cute_.

Yuri sits in front of his laptop and wonders how he has arrived at this point in his life, where he sits and stares at Jean-Jacques Leroy fumbling around his messy room half a globe away, and all Yuri can think is that JJ is so fucking cute and that someone should fucking invent an app that lets you kiss people over the internet already.

The first few chats between them are kind of awkward, because neither of them seems to know what to say, so they just end up staring at each other or at something outside the screen a lot. But even though it’s awkward, it still feels so _right_.

Then there’s the matter of time zones. No matter what time of day it is, the hour is always wrong for one of them. Sometimes Yuri wakes up in the middle of the night just to chat with JJ, because there simply isn’t a time that’s convenient for both of them. Yakov and Victor both shake their heads when Yuri drags himself to practice after a late-night chat session. Surprisingly, neither of them say anything even though the bags under Yuri’s eyes are probably visible to Vladivostok and beyond. Yuri doesn’t go around advertising his budding relationship with a certain Canadian skater, but he guesses Mila has filled them in on the situation.

 

*

 

When the call connects, JJ is not on the screen, but Yuri hears noises crackling through the speakers.

“JJ?” he asks cautiously.

“I’m here, sorry!” JJ says, his head popping up from where he’s been crouched behind his desk. “Sorry, I called and then realized I didn’t have a shirt on.” He appears on the screen blinking like an owl, his hair tousled and wearing a tight shirt that says _Born This Way_ in sparkly letters.

Yuri wouldn’t mind a shirtless video chat _at all_ , but last time he suggested it, JJ blushed thirteen shades of crimson and stuttered for almost thirty seconds.

It’s so fucking adorable.

“What’s that?” Yuri strains to listen to the song playing in the background in JJ’s end of the call.

“Nothing,” JJ says. He presses a button on his laptop and the music cuts off.

“Are you listening to that whiny song again?” Yuri can’t help the snort of laughter escaping through his nose. “God, you’re such a sap.” He looks at the screen, and there’s a gush of warmth in the pit of his stomach when their eyes meet.

“Hey, do not insult Death Cab, okay?” JJ says, trying to sound serious. “I’m not shit-talking about the music you like.”

“Um, yes you are,” Yuri points out. “Remember that one time when you said trance isn’t music at all?”

“I was just stating a _fact_ ,” JJ claims. “I mean, if you had ears and half a brain…”

They have established that their taste in music is complementary in the sense that whatever Yuri likes, JJ _really_ doesn’t and vice versa. It makes for an interesting ongoing conversation, though, because neither of them is giving up on trying to make the other change their mind.

Yuri does listen to the songs JJ sends him, though, especially when they come with a message attached that says something along the lines of, _this made me think of you_. The song that was just playing is one of them. He understands why JJ says it makes him think of Yuri. The last five minutes of the eight-minute track are just a whole lot of slow guitar riffs, piano and whining, but pretty much the only lyrics sung in that part is just a repeated line of, _I need you so much closer_.

Yuri definitely needs JJ so much closer.

 

*

 

“What, you’ve never seen Star Wars?” JJ looks like the shock might kill him. His eyes widen to almost comical proportions, and the blue light of the laptop screen makes them shine as he leans closer to the screen to the point where Yuri can’t see anything else than two eyes, staring through the screen in shock.

“Lots of movies in the world, can’t have seen all of them,” Yuri mutters.

“But. But it’s _Star Wars_!” JJ exclaims. “When you’re coming over, we’re doing a Star Wars marathon.”

Yuri inhales, doesn’t know what to say. It’s been implied several times that one of them should visit the other, but it’s been months and no definite plans have taken place.

JJ pulls back from the screen and fidgets with a keychain he grabbed somewhere off-screen. “I mean, if you wanna come over, it’s just—”

JJ is stumbling over his words again, and Yuri has to look away to hide the look of utter adoration he knows is plastered on his face right now.

“Yes, you bumbling idiot, I wanna come over,” Yuri finally says when he gets his face in check. “As soon as Yakov lets me have some time off.”

That time finally rolls around in May. Yakov looks doubtful about letting Yuri go to Canada all by himself, but Yuri turned eighteen two months ago so there isn’t really much Yakov can do to prevent him from leaving, aside from a whole lot of glaring, and that’s never affected Yuri in any way.

JJ is ecstatic when they plan Yuri’s visit over skype. “I was thinking we could go to my family’s cabin for a few days, it’s outside Toronto on this lakeshore, really pretty this time of year, and I have _not_ forgotten the Star Wars marathon, and I want to show you around the city and—”

Yuri just listens and hums under his breath and thinks, _I want to kiss that stupid face so much it hurts_.

 

*

 

JJ picks him up from the airport in a huge red pick-up instead of the usual sleek convertible that’s in his instagram photos. Upon landing JJ texted him, _sorry, parking is shit so I can’t leave the car but I’m waiting right outside the door!_

Yuri walks out of the airport and almost has a heart attack when JJ blares the horn from the monster of a car waiting right in front of the doors. Yuri walks up to the car, dragging his suitcase after him, and absently wonders if there are no roads where they’re going. JJ beams like a miniature sun and waves from behind the wheel.

Yuri wonders what the protocol here is. Should he kiss JJ? _Can_ he kiss JJ? They haven’t seen each other in person since GPF banquet five months ago, when he grabbed JJ by the neck and pressed their lips together for a brief moment, then muttered that maybe they should skype sometime because he kind of likes JJ. After that it’s just been a lot of video chatting, texting and sending snaps to each other.

Yuri decides to worry about protocol later.

There’s no room for luggage inside the truck, so Yuri tosses his suitcase into the bed of the truck and climbs on the passenger’s seat. Literally _climbs_ , because the pick-up is one of those monstrosities that could probably survive driving over a thirteen-story building. The roof of the car is way above Yuri’s head when he stands next to it. Yuri pulls the door shut after himself and fastens his seatbelt.

“Whose is this?” Yuri makes a gesture that encompasses the car, then rolls his eyes at the dashboard where one of those stupid stick-on Hula girls is swaying along with the movements of the car.

“My brother’s,” JJ simply says and Yuri doesn’t ask which one. He can’t remember all their names anyway.

“So. Cabin in the woods, outdoorsy stuff. I see you’ve dressed the part,” Yuri remarks, looking up and down JJ who is seated behind the wheel. He’s dressed in loose-fitting blue jeans and a fucking flannel shirt like some hipster lumberjack poster boy. Well, at least he doesn’t have one of those beanies rolled up so it doesn’t cover the ears, because if that were the case Yuri would just wish JJ a pleasant stay _alone_ at the cabin and step right out of the car. Yuri glances at the ground that’s far below. Okay, technically he would probably _fall_ out of the car and break his leg or something, but the sentiment is the same.

“You like?” JJ glances at Yuri with a raised eyebrow and winks.

Yuri rolls his eyes, because there is no way in hell he’s going to tell JJ that he looks good dressed like that. Even if it is kind of true.

Yuri feels a bit overdressed in his Prada hoodie and leopard-print Vans, but he doesn’t exactly own hiking gear, so what was he supposed to wear?

JJ rolls the pick-up out of the airport parking lot and heads toward the highway. JJ’s phone is connected to the car’s stereo over bluetooth so Yuri hijacks the connection and puts his own music on.

“So how long does it take to get there?” Yuri asks after he’s got some decent music on.

“Like two hours,” JJ says. “More if there’s traffic on the highway.”

Yuri settles down in the comfortable car seat. Two hours, and then a whole weekend at the Leroy’s cabin with no one but them around. It’s pretty fucking scary, because Yuri has never spent any amount of time alone with JJ without a laptop screen and an ocean between them.

What if they have nothing to talk about?

What if it’s going to be awkward as hell?

What if it all ends in a disaster?

Yuri glances at JJ, who smiles at him, steering the car onto a fast lane.

It’s JJ, so it’s probably going to be annoying, and possibly a little frustrating, and totally fucking awesome.

Also, there should be kissing. That’s definitely something they need to get to as soon as possible. Yuri has been thinking about kissing JJ for the better part of five months now.

Yuri glances at the time on his phone. One hour and forty-eight minutes, more if there’s traffic, but after that he finally gets to push close to JJ and fucking kiss the life out of him.

 

*

 

“Jesus, it’s _freezing_ in here,” Yuri says as he parks his suitcase next to the front door of the cabin. He takes off his sneakers and zips the luggage open. He’s sure he packed some wool socks, and as soon as he finds them he puts them on to shield him from the cold floor.

“Hold on, I’m gonna go put the heating on,” JJ says and drops his bags next to Yuri’s. He kicks his shoes off and disappears down the basement stairs, and Yuri closes the front door that JJ left open. No need to let _more_ cold air in. He shivers a little in his oversized hoodie until JJ reappears from the basement.

“It’s going to be a while before the heating kicks in,” JJ says.

“I guess you’re gonna have to keep me warm, then,” Yuri says boldly, tilting his head and wiggling his eyebrows.

JJ laughs and ducks his head as his cheeks tint in red. Then he comes over to wrap his arms around Yuri.

The embrace is slightly stiff and awkward, but it’s nice. JJ is still taller than him, so even though Yuri has grown quite a bit in the last year, he can rest his head comfortably on JJ’s shoulder.

“This is not going to keep me properly warm,” Yuri complains, breathing into the flannel of JJ’s shirt.

“Neither is getting naked, you know,” JJ mutters into his ear. Yuri can feel JJ grin against his ear, but despite the grin he’s pretty sure JJ is blushing at the words.

“But if we get in bed there will be blankets,” Yuri says. “And you.”

He looks up to meet JJ’s eyes, and if them standing in a quiet lakeside cabin isn’t the perfect cinematic moment, then nothing is. Yuri lifts his chin, offering, and JJ takes the offer.

The kiss is hesitant at first, testing out what works when it’s _them_. That one kiss outside the banquet hall doesn’t count, so in reality, this is their first proper kiss, a starting point from which to build up. The thought makes Yuri hug JJ tighter, a little breathless as JJ’s tongue meets his in the middle.

As the kiss fades away, they stand in the middle of the floor, hugging and just staring at each other like they’re trying to figure out if this truly is reality and not some weirdly vivid dream.

 _God, I’d wanted to do that for a long time_ , Yuri wants to say, but he can’t quite bring himself to form the words.

“How about I start the fireplace,” JJ suggests, his arms sliding away from Yuri. His voice trembles a little.

Yuri pouts.

“We have all weekend, you know,” JJ remarks. “C’mon.” He holds out a hand, and Yuri glares at him just a second longer before grabbing it.

JJ drags him into the living room where a fireplace is built into the corner. There is a pile of wood beside the fireplace, and Yuri hangs back while JJ expertly places the logs in the fireplace and stuffs pieces of dry bark and some newspaper in between them as kindling.

JJ sits cross-legged on the floor as soon as he gets the fire going, and he pats the spot beside him. “C’mere.”

Yuri detaches from the wall he was leaning on and sinks to the floor next to JJ. There is a fluffy pelt in front of the fireplace, and the fire feels hot against Yuri’s face as soon as he sits down.

JJ’s hand wraps around Yuri’s shoulders, and the crackling of the fire is soothing. Yuri leans his head against JJ’s shoulder as warmth starts creeping into his limbs, and that combined with jetlag quickly lulls him into a sluggish state of near-sleep.

Should it really be this comfortable, this easy? The thought shakes Yuri to a more alert state, and he blinks his eyes open, watching the flames licking the firewood. He spent most of the car ride agonizing over what was going to happen when they arrived at the cabin, and here he is, leaning against JJ’s shoulder and feeling the tiny movements as JJ shifts beneath him. It feels comfortable. It feels _natural_ , which is not at all what Yuri expected.

JJ’s fingers stroke his hair, move down his arm, twirl the strings of his hoodie as Yuri nods against his shoulder. It’s like JJ is unable to sit still, his hand roaming here and there and his leg bouncing a little bit.

“Can you be still for like five seconds,” Yuri mumbles, half-asleep. He brings a hand on JJ’s bouncing knee, stilling the movement.

JJ goes stiff beside him. “Sorry,” JJ says, rushed.

There is a tense moment of silence, and then Yuri pulls back. JJ is looking at the fireplace intently, and the flames reflect from his eyes. His face looks like someone pulled the shutters closed.

Then JJ exhales and his face seems to open up a bit. “I’m probably going to do that a lot, so I’m sorry in advance,” he says.

“What, bounce your leg?” Yuri asks.

“That, and other things,” JJ says, picking absently at the fluffy hairs of the pelt beneath them. “You know how it’s like with me.”

Yuri knows. He has already seen through a computer screen how JJ can’t sit still and fidgets with various items that happen to be next to his laptop, so it doesn’t really come as a surprise. He has spent five months studying JJ’s behavior over skype more closely than he’ll ever admit.

“Okay,” he says, shrugging.

JJ blinks. “Okay?” he repeats.

“Well, if you need to do it, then you do,” Yuri says.

JJ looks like someone just handed him a million bucks. “Okay, I’m going to kiss you now,” he breathes, and his hand comes up to cup Yuri’s chin.

 _Kissed by the fireplace_ , Yuri thinks as their lips slide against each other’s, exploring. _Now if this isn’t sappy as fuck, I don’t know what is_.

He loves every second of it.

 

*

 

When Yuri wakes up in the morning, he feels slightly more alive. Jetlag made him sluggish and feel like he was walking through a brain-fog for the most part of last night.

JJ almost carried him to bed, and sadly not in a sexual way. No, it was because after supper Yuri was so tired that he almost fell asleep with his head against the table.

It should maybe be embarrassing, but having JJ’s arms wrapped around him, steering him firmly toward the bed, was worth the embarrassment. Also, the _look_ on JJ’s face when Yuri unceremoniously stripped off his clothes aside from his boxers and dived under the covers—well, it was a priceless mixture of bashfulness and wanting, like JJ couldn’t decide if he should look away or drill holes into Yuri’s body with his eyes.

Yuri was mostly asleep as soon as his head hit the pillows, but he felt JJ crawling in beside him. Yuri extended a hand, groping around until he found JJ’s t-shirt covered chest and pulled him closer from the edge of the bed.

Yuri fell asleep with his arm around JJ’s waist, listening to their breaths in the quiet room.

Now that Yuri cracks his eyes open in the morning light, he feels better. It’s still early, but JJ is already up, because the other side of the bed is empty.

Yuri yawns and tosses the covers aside. His skin ripples with goosebumps at the cool temperature of the room. Apparently the heating system of the cabin is not a very effective one.

He quickly pulls on his clothes and tops his outfit with the wool socks before padding into the adjoined bathroom. _Sexy as fuck_ , Yuri thinks sarcastically as he looks at himself in the mirror. His eyes are still sleep-bleary and his hair is in tangles and greasy at the roots. He needs to shower but before that, he needs _coffee_. He solves the hair problem by pulling his hood up so it covers his hair. That’ll have to do for now.

Yuri paces to the kitchen, dressed up from head to toe and wearing wool socks and still shivering.

He gets stuck staring in the kitchen doorway, because apparently JJ’s internal thermometer isn’t aware that it’s _fucking cold_ in the cabin. JJ is standing by the stove in his jeans and a gray wifebeater, his hair a mess that’s sticking up in every direction. Yuri watches the muscles in his shoulders and his arms move as he stirs something on the stove. Yuri’s eyes slide over the tattoos on JJ’s biceps, circle down to his narrow waist and his ass, and Yuri suddenly feels hungry for something else than breakfast.

 _Down, boy_ , Yuri commands silently and glares at the front of his jeans.

JJ glances over his shoulder. “Morning, _beau_ ,” he says.

Yuri startles at the endearment. It’s not the first time JJ is calling him that, but it’s the first time in real life. He smiles tentatively and steps inside the kitchen. There are a lot of firsts on this trip.

Yuri has spent five months craving to be close to JJ, but now that the time is here he stalls, doesn’t quite know how to approach. He swallows, and as JJ turns back to the stove he walks over before his brain allows him to chicken out. He wraps his arms around JJ from behind and presses his nose to the nape of JJ’s neck, inhaling.

 _God, how can a person smell so infuriatingly good_ , Yuri thinks. JJ stiffens at the contact for a second, but then he relaxes, and Yuri feels the muscles move in his right shoulder as he pokes whatever’s cooking in the frying pan. Yuri lingers for a few more seconds, peeking over JJ’s shoulder to see that he’s making an omelet. Then he has to pull back from the embrace and glare at his stupid dick again for being so trigger-happy.

JJ at the breakfast table is almost like JJ at the supper table, only with plenty more energy. He sits down across from Yuri for a moment, then remembers he wanted salt and pepper on his omelet so he goes to get them from the cupboard. He sits down for a second time, but bounces up after a minute to get his phone from the counter. Then he sits for the third time, scrolling down his instagram feed, eating his omelet one-handed with his leg bouncing against the table so that the coffee in Yuri’s mug ripples.

Yuri just sits and stares, and he probably looks like a lovesick fool, but whatever. He’s watched JJ going through similar motions on his laptop screen, but it’s a whole other story to have them happen where he can actually feel them. Yuri sips his coffee to hide his smile.

Yuri posted a picture on instagram of the lake at sunset last night. He pulls his phone out of his pocket to check his notifications.

JJ has posted a very similar lake view photo, only it’s a lake in the pale morning light.

The rumor mill is already churning out speculations. On twitter, someone has posted the two photos together side by side, and there is a chain of 300+ comments below it, pointing out how it’s _definitely_ the same lake, taken from the same spot, _see how the treetops on the opposite shore form the exact same line_ …

“You douche, you just _had to_ ,” Yuri mutters under his breath.

JJ looks up from his phone and grins. He fucking loves throwing gasoline into the flames.

“Well, I wanted to post a photo of my gorgeous boyfriend sleeping, but I figured if I did you’d strangle me with my skate laces or something,” JJ says, winking.

“You took pictures of me when I was asleep? _Creep_.” Yuri rolls his eyes, but there is a huff of laughter escaping his lips before he can stop it. The term _boyfriend_ catches him similarly off-guard than the earlier endearment, because while they have agreed that _boyfriends_ is what this is, it’s still different to hear it in person. _Another first_ , Yuri thinks, and he wants to drown himself in the coffee mug so JJ doesn’t see the blush that’s probably spreading on his face right now.

After getting the blush under control, Yuri raises his foot below the table and sneaks it up JJ’s leg. _Vengeance_ , he thinks mischievously.

JJ nearly chokes on his bite of food, and his eyes widen as he turns to look at Yuri, phone clattering to the table.

Yuri gives him a smile and inches his foot higher until it’s resting on the edge of JJ’s chair between his legs. For once, JJ’s leg is not bouncing, and the stillness is a surefire sign that Yuri has JJ’s undivided attention.

He sees the movement of JJ’s throat as he swallows. “Yura,” JJ says hoarsely. Yuri can see his skin drawing in goosebumps, and as he slides his gaze down JJ’s body, JJ’s nipples are clearly visible through his wifebeater.

Yuri presses the ball of his sock-covered foot lightly against JJ’s crotch, grinning at the reaction.

JJ groans, pupils so wide that the blue in his eyes has diminished into thin rings surrounding the pupils. He swallows again, and Yuri is pretty sure he hasn’t breathed in about thirty seconds now.

When Yuri pulls his foot back, JJ looks flushed and his first inhale of air is rushed, like his body is just now remembering how to breathe again.

Yuri shifts a little uncomfortably in his jeans, because it’s morning, and his dick is always like this in the morning, so he can’t really expect to push his foot against JJ’s crotch and _not_ pop a boner immediately.

God he wants to tear that stupid wifebeater and those stupid jeans off JJ and lick his way down JJ’s chest all the way to his cock.

Yuri is out of his chair before he realizes he’s moved, and he’s on the other side of the table, pulling JJ up and flush against him. The remains of their breakfast lie forgotten on the table as Yuri presses his lips to the side of JJ’s neck, soft at first, then harder, nibbling at the skin.

JJ’s hands push Yuri’s hood down and tangle themselves in his hair, and for a second Yuri regrets not taking that shower before breakfast, but he forgets it as soon as he hears the groans his trailing kisses on JJ’s skin elicit.

“ _Yura_ ,” JJ says again, like it’s the only word he can remember right now. He’s hard against Yuri’s stomach and his arms are pulling Yuri closer like he wants them to merge at the seams.

Yuri kind of wants that, too.

Yuri detaches from the embrace, pulling JJ along by the hand. JJ follows him quietly, his eyes fixed on Yuri as Yuri tugs him along, back into the bedroom and onto the bed.

“Want you,” Yuri whispers when they fall on the mattress in a heap. He finds JJ’s lips and kisses him roughly, and it tastes like coffee and omelets but _what-fucking-ever_. It’s still fucking perfect.

JJ is trembling as Yuri’s hands roam under his shirt.

They’ve talked about sex. Of course they’ve talked about sex. Yuri knows JJ didn’t have sex with Isabella, because back then he thought he’d wait until marriage.

Thing is, Yuri is not exactly sure what JJ’s current stance on that is. They’ve talked about previous experience, of which Yuri has very little and JJ even less, but the talk never quite reached the level of them discussing their potential experiences _together_. That was the kind of thing that always made JJ blush and stutter, so Yuri didn’t push the subject.

Yuri manages just enough self-restraint to pull back for exactly four breathless seconds. He studies JJ’s face; his blue eyes, the arch of his eyebrows, his slightly open mouth, the flush on his neck and face. _God, he’s so gorgeous._ Yuri runs his fingers through JJ’s messy hair and mutters, “If you want me to stop, say so.”

JJ shakes his head so fast it’s almost comical. “Fuck, no,” he whispers. He’s blushing, but there is no hesitation in his response, and he looks like he wants to devour Yuri in the best possible way.

“Then take off your stupid clothes already,” Yuri says, pulling back so he can remove his own clothing. He unzips the hoodie and pulls it off, grimacing as the cold air hits his skin. Beside him, JJ is in the process of pulling the wifebeater over his head. Yuri hurries to pull his own t-shirt off, because JJ has less clothing so he has a head start.

There’s nothing sexy in the hurried way they struggle to get out of their jeans. Yuri wants to feel JJ naked against him _right now_ , and all this stupid fabric is in the way. He pushes his boxers down along with the jeans and drops the entire mess of jeans, boxers and socks on the floor. He shivers, skin rippled with goosebumps, while JJ makes his way under the blanket and then holds the edge up like an invitation.

Yuri dives under the covers and is greeted by JJ’s lips on his.

Then JJ is suddenly there, a warm presence right against him under the covers, and there is nothing between them. Yuri gasps as JJ’s hard cock pushes against his stomach, and his own dick replies in kind, twitching between them.

Yuri’s hands roam mindlessly up and down JJ’s back, like they can’t decide what to touch first; the muscles in JJ’s upper back, the narrow plane of the small of his back or the curve of his ass right below. The only redeeming factor in this mess is that JJ is doing the exact same thing, his hands wandering over Yuri’s body like there is suddenly too much to touch, to feel, to explore.

JJ licks Yuri’s collarbone, and Yuri’s hips reflexively buck up against JJ’s. His hand flies up to mess with JJ’s hair and he pulls JJ up into a rough kiss. The movement of their lips is the same as the rest of them, rushed and uncoordinated, hips grinding and lips colliding like time is running out any second now.

 _We have time_ , Yuri reminds himself, but he can’t slow down the frantic exploration of JJ’s body. There’s time, but there’s also _impatience_ , fueled by five months of him dreaming of doing exactly this.

“God you’re so hot,” Yuri gasps against JJ’s mouth.

He receives a groan in response, and JJ’s cock pushes against him.

Yuri doesn’t know what he expected, but JJ is definitely not as vocal during sex as he is otherwise. Aside from a few gasps and moans he’s fairly quiet, like there’s too much going on and no words for it.

Yuri detaches a hand from JJ’s hair and slides it down, wrapping his fingers experimentally around JJ’s cock.

“ _Yura_ ,” JJ groans, and damn, Yuri has definitely reduced his vocabulary to a bare minimum.

JJ’s hand slides over Yuri’s hip, returning the favor, and it’s Yuri’s turn to push up against JJ’s hand as it wraps around his cock.

“Fuck,” Yuri gasps, almost biting JJ’s lip. His free hand searches something to hold onto and finally settles to squeeze JJ’s bicep. The muscles beneath the skin move as JJ’s hand moves around Yuri’s cock, and Yuri momentarily forgets all his motor functions and his hand comes to a halt on JJ’s dick.

JJ’s bicep is trembling under Yuri’s hand, and his hand slides up and down, each stroke feeling better than the last.

Yuri exhales shakily against JJ’s lips and then remembers to move his own hand.

JJ fucking _whines_ as Yuri speeds up the pace, and it’s the best sound Yuri has ever heard.

There’s time, but simultaneously there’s _no_ time. Not when Yuri is spiraling toward orgasm, and his only thought is that he can’t fucking come first. Like it really _matters_ who comes first, but he wants to have JJ unravel at his touch, _needs_ it, before he can let himself go.

The movements of their hands around one another are getting erratic, like the sliding of skin against skin is falling out of sync. The movement of their lips is not so much kissing anymore as it is just mouthing each other, wanting to taste the moans and hitched breaths and lust.

JJ is suddenly reduced to a babbling mess, chanting, _Yura, Yura, Yur-ahh_ , the name falling from his lips in an increasingly rapid succession.

Yuri feels JJ’s entire body pull taut like a bowstring and then shudder, and Yuri pulls back from the sloppy kiss, wanting to see JJ’s face when he lets go.

JJ’s eyes are screwed shut, his mouth open, and he spills over Yuri’s hand and between them with one final moan of Yuri’s name.

As he comes, the muscles of JJ’s arm clench tight, and as a result so does the hand wrapped around Yuri’s dick.

The sensation of the tight movements of JJ’s fingers, trembling in the wake of the aftershocks, and the feeling of JJ’s come splashed on his stomach is the combination that finally ends Yuri’s death spiral and slams him against the ground, his orgasm ripping every last shred of oxygen from his lungs. He is vaguely aware of attacking JJ’s mouth with his, desperately clinging onto JJ’s arm, his hips thrusting through it until finally coming to a stop.

As Yuri’s breaths even out and he opens his eyes, JJ’s face is very close. JJ’s hair is after-sex messed-up and his eyes are dark blue. There is a soft look in them as he traces a finger—of the clean hand, not the one covered in come, Yuri checks—over Yuri’s features like he’s drawing them. Up to the bridge of Yuri’s nose, along his eyebrows and down his cheeks to the arch of his lip.

“I swear to god if you say something sappy right now I’m going to punch you,” Yuri grumbles, but it’s hard to get his voice to sound threatening when he’s coming down from a mind-blowing orgasm.

JJ laughs. “You’re adorable.”

Yuri fights the smile valiantly, but eventually the smile wins. He groans through the smile and slaps JJ’s arm lightly. “Shut up.” He closes his eyes and buries his face in JJ’s shoulder.

“The scary Ice Tiger of Russia, all soft and gooey beside me,” JJ murmurs into his ear, and Yuri doesn’t have to see his shit-eating grin to know it’s there.

“I’ll show you soft and gooey,” Yuri threatens, glaring up at JJ’s face.

JJ makes a point of looking down. “Yeah, you kind of did already.”

“You think you’re so funny,” Yuri groans. He can’t help the laughter bubbling out of him, though, because it feels as if his insides are mush all of a sudden and it’s because of Jean Jacques Leroy’s stupid grinning face.

“I _know_ I am funny. Besides, you’re laughing,” JJ points out, pulling Yuri close. His fingers skate down Yuri’s bare arm, drawing circles around his elbow.

“Am not.” Yuri tries to resist the pull of JJ’s infectious grin, but he can’t, so he just ends up laughing harder.

The mess between them cools down and gets sticky and disgusting, so Yuri rolls off the bed and then, after a moment’s hesitation, holds out a hand. “Come shower with me?” he asks.

After showering and changing the sheets, they make a new attempt at eating breakfast, and this time they manage to get through it without distractions. Yuri smirks into his coffee mug and JJ wiggles his eyebrows, and maybe it should feel different but it doesn’t.

Or it _does_ , but it’s a good kind of different.

When they finally get out of the cabin after breakfast, it’s past noon. Yuri would be fine just hanging inside, but JJ insists that they get some fresh air and exercise. Yuri’s comments about exercise in the bedroom are promptly ignored. JJ’s ears go a bit pink at the suggestion, and Yuri briefly wonders if it’ll be disappointing when JJ stops blushing at the mention of sex, because it’s adorable as fuck when he does.

Yuri allows JJ to drag him for a walk up the hills, weaving between trees and shrubs until they come to a spot where the trees give way to a rocky formation. Once they’ve climbed up to the top, JJ twirls Yuri around and then hugs his arms tightly around Yuri from behind.

Yuri finds himself facing a gorgeous lake scenery surrounded by forest as far as eye can see. JJ’s arms are firm around his waist, and JJ leans his chin on Yuri’s shoulder.

“It’s pretty,” Yuri says. He can kind feel what the first settlers must have felt upon coming to this land and finding it lush and green and beautiful.

“Yeah,” JJ replies, breath tickling Yuri’s ear. “So, you wanna go back down and take a lake tour on a blue rowing boat?”

“A private tour, I’m guessing,” Yuri says, tilting his head so he can catch JJ’s lips with his.

“Oh yes, provided by a handsome tour guide in a sweet-ass flannel shirt.”

Yuri rolls his eyes toward the sky. “Well, we may have a differing opinion about that flannel shirt.”

JJ laughs, and Yuri can feel the vibrations against his back.

JJ detaches from Yuri and holds out a hand. They walk hand in hand until they get to a part of the path where it’s so steep they need their hands for climbing.

They make their way down to the lake and to a floating dock a small distance away from the cabin. A blue rowing boat is pulled up to the sandy shore beside the dock. There are fallen leaves and some water sloshing around the bottom, and JJ scoops them out with a small bucket that looks like it might have originally belonged to a kids’ sandbox.

Yuri walks to the end of the dock while JJ pushes the rowing boat into the water from the strip of sand. He jumps into the boat and sits down, setting to oars on the oarlocks so he can pivot the boat around.

Yuri watches the skillful way JJ maneuvers the boat toward the end of the dock. As he gets to where Yuri is standing, he pulls the oars in and halts the boat by holding onto the dock. He brings the side of the boat against the dock.

“Hop in,” JJ says, and Yuri gingerly climbs in. The boat sways under his feet, and Yuri balances precariously in the middle, before plopping down on the rear bench.

“Wait, before you plant your ass too firmly down, there’s life vests inside the bench,” JJ says, nodding toward where Yuri is sitting. “I know they’re not very fashionable, but we’re not going anywhere unless you put one on.”

Yuri pokes his tongue out at JJ and cautiously gets up, lifting the top of the bench up on its hinges.

He digs out two life vests and hands one to JJ. When they’re both properly attired, JJ pushes off the dock and splashes the oars into the water again.

The water is mostly still, only a few small waves rippling across the surface every now and then. The water laps at the oars, splashing against them on every pull of JJ’s shoulders.

Yuri would like to see what JJ rowing would look like without the life vest and his shirt, because _damn_. The tendons in JJ’s neck pull tight every time he pulls on the oars, so Yuri can only imagine what it would look like without the extra clothing in the way.

He sits in the rear of the boat and watches the lake spreading out around them. JJ stops every now and then to wipe his forehead on his sleeve, and every time he does, Yuri is terrified that he’s going to ask Yuri to row. Not that Yuri is opposed to the physical workout, but he’s never rowed a boat in his life, and it looks like something he doesn’t want to fuck up. Not in front of JJ, who looks like he was born with oars in hand.

JJ steers them along the shore of the lake while Yuri takes photos for instagram. He takes selfies and scenery photos. He also takes one of JJ, sweaty and hot as hell, for his own private collection. JJ notices him aiming the phone, and he stops rowing to wink at the camera.

JJ looks infuriatingly perfect in the photo, despite his unfashionable outfit of flannel combined with the life vest. He’s a bit sweaty and a lot gorgeous, his hair tousled by the slight wind, his mouth in a mischievous smile that gives Yuri heart palpitations. Yuri doesn’t want to admit it, but this particular photo is probably going to be his lock screen as soon as he’s left Canada. But only _after_ he’s left Canada, because he doesn’t want to let JJ witness his downfall into sap-land.

 

*

 

They cook dinner together, and it’s almost a disaster but ends up okay in the end. JJ, despite trying to do three things at once, is a decent cook. Yuri just follows instructions and manages to drop an opened can of tomato sauce on the floor. Luckily it’s easy to clean off the floor, but their pasta sauce is kind of sad without it. But then JJ comes up with the idea of making a casserole with cheese sauce instead, and as they eat the food, Yuri counts his lucky stars for finding a guy who can cook, because _damn_.

After dinner they make s’mores in the fireplace, and somehow it ends up with them both shirtless and Yuri licking melted chocolate off JJ’s abs. JJ lies on the pelt in front of the fireplace with an arm thrown over his face, and his breaths hitch in a delicious way when Yuri unbuttons his jeans and sucks JJ’s cock into his mouth.

JJ allows him a full minute of giving a blowjob, and then he shoots up and half-carries Yuri to bed, stripping Yuri of his clothes and returning the favor until Yuri is flushed and writhing and arching off the bed.

This time feels less urgent than their morning session when it seemed like time was running out and the goal was to climax before it did. The first time was of dire _necessity_ to touch and feel each other for the first time, but this time it’s a full-on exploration trip. JJ finds all the sensitive parts of Yuri’s body and bites them gently, and Yuri finds himself babbling nonsense when JJ twirls his tongue around the tip of his cock while his finger presses down right beneath Yuri’s balls. It’s so slow and torturous and so, _so_ good. Neither of them really know what they’re doing, so they have to ask.

_Did you like that?_

_Is this okay?_

_I wanna try this one thing, are you okay with that?_

It’s probably a model example of communication while having sex or something.

JJ’s eyes widen when Yuri brings out the big guns. He detaches from JJ’s sweat-slick embrace and pads to his suitcase. When he returns, he slams down a string of condoms and some lube.

JJ inhales and holds the breath for a moment. Then he looks at Yuri and lets the breath out slowly. “So, um, which way are we doing this?”

Yuri just raises one eyebrow and spreads his legs.

JJ’s brow is furrowed in concentration as his fingers work Yuri open. Yuri lies on his back and throws an arm over his eyes. He’s done this to himself, a few times, but the burn of JJ’s fingers still makes him hiss under his breath.

JJ stills. “Yura?” he asks in voice that Yuri almost doesn’t recognize. It’s dazed and rough and so low that it seems to vibrate through Yuri’s body.

“Just, give me a second,” Yuri mutters, lifting the arm so he can look at JJ.

 _Oh jesus_ , Yuri thinks, watching JJ’s slack-jawed face. He’s never seen such raw lust on anyone’s face, such deep _wanting_. Yuri wants it too, wants JJ in him but getting there is proving to be an arduous task of JJ inserting fingers and Yuri making his body relax around them.

When JJ rolls a condom on and slicks himself with lube, Yuri doesn’t know what to expect. He knows it’s going to be more than three fingers, because he is fucking _looking_ at the cock that’s going to go inside him any second now. He can fucking _see_ it’s more than three fingers. He swallows when JJ pushes against the ring of muscle.

“Just, go slow, alright,” Yuri says, hissing as the tip of JJ’s cock presses in.

JJ’s face contorts in a flash of pleasure, and that fucking face alone is worth the burn in Yuri’s asshole. He lifts his hips slightly, and JJ’s cock slides in deeper.

JJ hangs his head and moans, and Yuri bites back the noise of displeasure. It’s not exactly pain, just a sensation of being pushed open like he’s never been before, his body trying to resist the intrusion.

“Come here,” Yuri manages, pulling JJ down by the shoulder until they’re face to face. JJ’s pupils are so wide, and his entire body is trembling.

Yuri makes the hasty decision to treat this like ripping off a bandaid or jumping into cold water—just do it, and then it’s done. So he wraps his legs around JJ and pulls him in.

“Oh, fuck, _Yura_ ,” JJ moans, dropping his head into the crook of Yuri’s neck and breathing quickly through his nose.

Yuri takes in deep breaths, trying to adjust to the stretch. When he’s managed to relax, he nudges JJ’s temple with his nose. “Move,” he instructs.

JJ pulls back and then pushes back in, stilling. “You feel so—good,” JJ breathes against Yuri’s neck, and Yuri realizes he’s doing his damnedest to not come right now.

Yuri reaches a hand around his own cock, coaxing it back to life. The burn from the intrusion is starting to fade, replaced by a slightly stinging sensation that isn’t so bad. In fact, it might be leaning closer to _good_ , like a slow spark that’s awakening somewhere inside him. With the additional sensations from his hand pumping his cock, it’s definitely starting to feel better every second.

“Move,” Yuri whispers again, softly.

JJ pulls back once more, and slams in, and he lets out a noise that’s almost like a whine.

If this morning is anything to go by, that’s a telling signal of how far gone JJ is.

Yuri shifts beneath him, because he knows there’s a spot he’s supposed to find, or JJ is supposed to find, but JJ looks so dazed as he lifts his head from the crook of Yuri’s neck that Yuri doubts he’ll be finding anything anytime soon.

The angle is a bit different on the next thrust, and Yuri feels it—a spark of pleasure spreading inside him.

“Oh, _there_ ,” Yuri gasps in surprise, and he tries to keep the same angle as JJ pushes in again, more frantic.

“Yura, I’m so sorry, it’s just too—” JJ’s words cut into a moan, and he keeps thrusting his hips, sliding in and out in a rapid, graceless rhythm.

Yuri feels the telltale way JJ’s body goes rigid and then shudders, and then he collapses on top of Yuri like dead weight.

Yuri’s hand is smushed between them and he’s still hard and straining.

JJ lifts his head. “Sorry. You’re just. So fucking good,” he mutters, and Yuri isn’t sure if the blush on his face is post-coital haze or embarrassment. He doesn’t get a chance to analyze it, because JJ pulls up and out, and Yuri feels empty all of a sudden.

JJ ties the condom and tosses it somewhere near the nightstand, and then he’s leaning over Yuri and taking his cock in his mouth. Two of his fingers tease Yuri just below the balls and then slide into him. After JJ’s cock, it’s not much of an intrusion, and with the added suction of JJ’s mouth, Yuri finds himself in a sensory overload that’s quickly turning orgasmic. JJ’s fingers push inside, and Yuri’s hips grind up to meet them, and JJ’s mouth is wet and slick on his cock. JJ scissors his fingers inside Yuri, and when they finally hit the spot, Yuri’s hips lift off the bed and he nearly makes JJ gag on his cock. After finding their goal, JJ’s fingers keep pressing into it, and he keeps on sucking sloppily, and the obscene slurping noises sound so good that it might just be the thing that pushes Yuri over the edge.

Yuri lets out a string of colorful Russian curses when he comes, surprised by the force of it. JJ chokes a little but he keeps sucking until Yuri falls limp, ragged breaths heaving his body.

JJ’s expression is an interesting mixture of disgust and something that almost looks like pleasure as he swallows with some difficulty.

Yuri laughs weakly. “What, my come doesn’t taste like strawberries?”

JJ lowers himself beside Yuri, snuggling close. “It’s not so much the taste, it’s the consistency,” he says thoughtfully.

“Okay, I did not need an analysis of my come, thanks,” Yuri says, dragging his palm over his face.

JJ laughs and pries the hand off Yuri’s face, leaning down to kiss him. Yuri can taste himself in the kiss, and it’s a strange feeling, because it’s kind of disgusting but it’s also kind of _hot_.

The sheets they changed hours ago have residual chocolate stains from the s’mores and there’s lube everywhere. Additionally, there is a slick sweat stain where Yuri was pounded into the mattress.

“I’m going to need another shower,” Yuri says. “And do you have more clean sheets? Because I am _not_ sleeping in this crusty pile of lube.”

 

*

 

On their last morning in the cabin there is a thin layer of mist hanging over the surface of the lake, and the air feels fresh and crisp. Yuri shivers a little as he stands on the front porch of the cabin, looking at the still water and listening to the silence of the early morning. There’s no sound of traffic or civilization anywhere, just the soothing hum of nature. He tugs his hoodie sleeves down and wraps his fingers around the coffee mug, the ceramic surface still slightly warm even though the coffee is mostly gone.

The door closes behind him, and JJ wraps his arms around Yuri, leaning to whisper into his ear, “Ready to go?”

Yuri sips down the last of his coffee and nods.

He didn’t think he’d enjoy peace and quiet as much as he does.

Not that it’s been particularly _quiet_ with JJ there, but maybe he didn’t expect to enjoy JJ’s company as much as he did. They seem to click on levels he never thought possible.

Being around JJ, just the two of them, has been so weird and exciting and wonderful.

They drive back to Toronto and JJ’s house, and they spend three more days visiting sights and watching Star Wars movies and cuddling like they need a reserve storage of cuddles for when they are apart.

Yuri feels like no amount of reserve cuddles are going to be of any help when he sets foot back on European soil.

The last days of his trip are _fun_ , but it’s not the same with JJ’s family around. The house is always booming with life, and Yuri finds himself missing the quietness of the lakeside cabin mornings, when it was just the two of them, playing footsie below the table while eating breakfast, walking around the quiet hills and getting lost in one another in the vast bed.

When the time comes and JJ drives him to the airport in his convertible, Yuri clings onto the front of JJ’s shirt and kisses him like his life depends on it.

“This fucking sucks,” Yuri declares when it’s time to let go.

“Yeah.” JJ breathes the word into Yuri’s hair. “Have a safe flight, _mon beau_ ,” JJ murmurs. Then he slaps Yuri’s ass before sending him through security.

Yuri rolls his eyes, shouts, “Douche!”, and then, quieter, “I’ll miss you.”

He sees JJ read the words from his lips. JJ nods, smiling a little sadly. _You too_ , he mouths back.

At the gate, Yuri checks instagram and twitter, and miraculously no one has documented their extremely visible goodbye.

There’s a new photo on JJ’s feed, though. Yuri doesn’t know when he took it—probably when Yuri was sleeping, the _creep_ —but it shows just their hands, entwined in the middle of blankets and pillows.

JJ’s caption reads: _Gonna miss this_. _#love #monbeau #longdistance_

The photo was posted four minutes ago, but there’s already over fifty comments on it.

Yuri stares at the photo of their entwined fingers, then thumbs through his own photo gallery, settling on a photo of JJ sitting in front of the fireplace, taken before the s’mores episode. Yuri doesn’t bother cropping the photo unrecognizable, he just slams it onto his instagram with a caption that reads: _Gonna miss you. #love #longdistancesucks #imnotgoingtocallyoustupidpetnamestho_

JJ instantly sends him a message. _Way to publicly out me, beau._

Yuri feels a pang of worry, because posting the picture was a spur-of-the-moment decision. _Sorry. Guess I should have asked you first._

JJ’s reply is instant: _No worries, I look damn good in that photo._

Yuri rolls his eyes. _Douche. But yeah, you kind of do_.

 _Besides, I already got my vengeance,_ JJ sends, adding a row of kissy face emojis.

Yuri immediately navigates to JJ’s instagram to find a picture of himself, his hair tousled and sleeping peacefully under a mountain of blankets, but it’s instantly recognizable as him.

The caption reads: _I guess the cat’s out of the bag now @yuri_plisetsky. #love #monbeau_

 

*

 

It’s been two days since Yuri came home, and this is the first time they both have a moment off so they can chat.

 _Can I call?_ JJ sends a text to Yuri’s phone, and Yuri replies with a thumbs-up emoji. He has just time to comb through his hair, sweaty and messy after practice, and then JJ’s skype call flashes on the screen.

Yuri accepts the call and is greeted with JJ’s dorky smile.

“I thought you didn’t like that flannel shirt,” JJ says when he spots Yuri wearing it.

“You’re the one who accidentally put it into my bag,” Yuri says, picking at the sleeve cuff. “Besides, it’s warm.”

 _And it smells like you_ , Yuri doesn’t add, because he doesn’t want to start their chat with a waterfall of tears from either of them.

He thought waiting to go visit JJ was bad. For five months, he thought they had it bad.

But now that he’s had the closeness, and the affection, and the kisses and everything, he _knows_ what he’s missing out on, so now it’s even _worse_.

“Wait, are you listening to Death Cab?” JJ’s face spreads into a shit-eating grin.

Yuri glares at him through the screen. “So what if I am?”

“Aww, you huge sap,” JJ coos. “You’re turning into _me_. Flannel shirts, Death Cab. Next time I call you probably have an undercut.”

“Shut up. I will never stoop _that_ low,” Yuri grumbles, and JJ laughs heartily.

Yuri leaves the song on.

The thing is, the song reminds him of the lakeside cabin, of the series of firsts that happened there, of the beautiful scenery and JJ’s eyes looking at him softly as they woke up together, noses nearly touching. It reminds him of the closeness and moments of exploration, of JJ’s scent and everything else that is now a million miles away.

“I miss you,” Yuri chokes out.

“ _Mon beau_ , I miss you too. You know it’s not forever,” JJ sighs, raking his hand through his hair. “Please, I hate to see you cry when I can’t do anything about it.” He sounds pleading, and his eyes are sad and serious.

Yuri wipes his cheek, only now realizing that he’s fucking bawling his eyes out.

“I wish I could be there to hug you,” JJ says, his gaze soft in the light of the laptop screen. “But it won’t be like this forever.”

“I know,” Yuri mutters, even though he doesn’t. “I just. I want to be able to touch you.”

“Me too,” JJ mutters. His fingers close in on the camera of his laptop as if he could somehow reach over the connection and touch Yuri.

Yuri smiles at JJ’s fingers fumbling over his webcam. “You’re such an idiot,” he sniffles.

JJ’s hand disappears from the screen, replaced by JJ’s goofy grin. “I know. But you know what, you chose me, Plisetsky, so now you get to deal with that. So joke’s on you I guess.”

Sometimes Yuri wonders if he would have chosen this, had he known how heartbreaking it is to love someone who is so far away.

Then he looks JJ in the eye through the laptop screen, and fucking _yes_ , he would choose this every time.

The song reaches the point where that one line repeats, over and over again, and Yuri mouths it to JJ, over and over again. JJ gives him a sad smile and mirrors Yuri’s movements, sending the words back to him.

 

_I need you so much closer._

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know, it ends a little sadly. But they have a future together, I promise. It's there.  
> -  
> Thanks to my ever-wonderful beta [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) for her patience when it comes to me sprinkling adverbs around. ♥  
> -  
> Also thanks for [Lecheesie](https://lecheesie.tumblr.com) and [ashiiblack](https://ashiiblack.tumblr.com) for graciously allowing me shout about my feels on tumblr chat.


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